Coltsfoot, a member of the Asteraceae family, is native to Europe and Asia. Its flowering stalks with their yellow blossoms appear in the spring before the leaves. The stalks, from 10 to 30 cm in height, arise directly from the rootstock and each one bears at the top a single flower, which opens only in sunny weather. The flowers are 2.0 to 2.5 cm across.
The ripe seed head looks somewhat like that of a dandelion. Sometime after the flowers are gone the hoof-shaped leaves are produced. Their lower surface is white with densely matted woolly hairs. Coltsfoot syrup prepared from the leaves is used in curing lung disorders and bronchitis.